Florida Republicans open door to firing squads, lethal gas as they push death penalty expansion

A measure filed successful the Florida authorities Senate would grow the methods by which decease enactment inmates could beryllium executed. 

Senate Bill 1604, introduced by authorities Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, aims to support Florida's presumption arsenic a decease punishment authorities if definite execution methods similar electrocution oregon ineligible injection are made unconstitutional by the Supreme Court oregon the Florida Supreme Court, oregon if lethal injection drugs are incapable to beryllium obtained successful the future.

There is presently a shortage of pentobarbital, the cause utilized for lethal injections, which has respective states scrambling to find alternate execution methods. 

LOS ANGELES DISTRICT ATTORNEY WANTS TO BRING BACK DEATH PENALTY

Florida lawmakers privation to grow decease punishment methods successful the state. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)

If that happens successful Florida, the measure mandates that "all persons sentenced to decease for a superior transgression shall beryllium executed by a method not deemed unconstitutional."

Martin told the Tampa Bay Times that his authorities volition guarantee that the authorities fulfills the instrumentality and follows done connected executions. 

Tuesday, the measure passed done the Florida Senate's Committee connected Criminal Justice. 

Wednesday, authorities Rep. Berny Jaques, R-Largo, introduced a companion measure successful the Florida House of Representatives. 

"I filed House Bill 903 due to the fact that I judge government’s superior relation is to support nationalist safety, and the decease punishment plays a captious portion successful that," Jaques told Fox News Digital. "This measure ensures Florida tin uphold law decease sentences without hold by giving the Department of Corrections the flexibility to usage immoderate lawful method if existent options go unavailable."

IDAHO BECOMES FIRST STATE TO PREFER DEATH BY FIRING SQUAD FOR EXECUTIONS

A seat sits successful the execution enclosure astatine the Utah State Prison connected June 18, 2010, aft Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad successful Draper, Utah. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool, File)

The measure does not specify which alternate execution methods could beryllium used, but 8 states already authorize the usage of immoderate signifier of lethal state arsenic a backup to lethal injection, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. In 4 of those states – Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma – nitrogen state is specifically named arsenic the deadly chemic cause utilized successful specified executions. 

Four different states let decease by firing squad arsenic an alternate to lethal injection, and South Carolina allows it arsenic an alternate to electrocution, its default method of execution. 

IDAHO'S MOVE TO RESURRECT FIRING SQUAD ‘MAKES SENSE’ AS ‘QUICKEST, SUREST’ DEATH PENALTY OPTION, EXPERT SAYS

In March, decease enactment inmate Brad Sigmon of South Carolina was executed by firing squad. He was the archetypal idiosyncratic successful the United States to beryllium executed successful that mode successful much than 15 years. 

Brad Sigmon was convicted of beating to decease his estranged girlfriend’s parents successful Greenville County successful 2001. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)

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Lethal injection is by acold the astir fashionable execution method, accounting for 1,431 of each executions since 1976. Electrocution is second, accounting for 163.